Here's another last minute tip to give your students preparing for NJASK persuasive writing. Teach them to open their letters/essays with a scene. Scenes engage the reader right from the get-go. If done well, scenes can appeal to the reader's emotion. And if the writer plans for it, he/she can return to the scene in the closing.

Here's an example. The cafeteria was crowded. Students were gathered around a girl who had passed out in the corner. One boy ran to get a teacher, but he had to push and shove his way through the thickening crowd. The sick girl was turning blue and no one seemed to know what to do. Don't you wish these kids had cell phones so one of them could have called for help? Sadly, in this school, students weren't allowed to use cell phones. I think cell phones are necessary and should be allowed in every school.

The writer can then go on to support his argument for cell phones in school. He can wrap up the argument by returning to the scene: The next time you witness a situation at school that calls for immediate action--a fight, a fire, or a student suffering a health crisis, you'll wish all students had cell phones.